Stress is a perfectly normal part of our lives, especially when there are situations you know you need to get through but circumstances make it a bit worrisome and anxious to handle on the spot. Despite its normalcy, however, one can’t deny that sometimes stress can be crippling to some people, especially those who have a hard time managing them. Just because stress can make our life a bit difficult doesn’t mean it’s impossible to conquer, however. Sometimes, all we need is that little nudge to find creative and unique solutions to our problems. In this Stress Less 101 article, here’s what to consider to lower your stress levels.
Unfortunately, despite what is perhaps a universal desire to remove all kinds of stressors, stress in itself is actually something that occurs across all walks of life, and can affect people of all ages and social situation. For instance, young people and teenagers said they get headaches, difficulty sleeping, or have drastic changes in their eating habits because of stress. Various employees also mention job insecurity and heavy workloads have contributed to increasing stress levels, with these having had effects on their physical and mental health.
Negative Effects of Stress
Perhaps it’s also important to be aware of the various effects of stress to your body, especially given the fact that stress can affect aspects of your physical body, mood, and behavior. Being able to recognize these effects may actually pinpoint you to assess the gravity of your stress, which can then give yourself a good idea on where to start when it comes to managing them. These include:
- Physical effects such as problems on sleep, experiencing chest pain and muscle pain, fatigue and headaches, as well as changes in sex drive.
- Mood changes such as depression and sadness, anger and irritability, lack of focus and motivation, as well as anxiety and restlessness.
- Behavioral changes such as doing less workouts, social withdrawal, bursts of anger, changes in diet, as well as developing vices and addictions to substances and activities.
If you’re in the same boat as them, then perhaps these tips might help you understand what to consider to lower your stress levels for the better:
- Rest if you need to: Remember that if you feel as though you need to take a break from life and its many worries, you’re completely free to do so. Stress, when left unmanaged, can have a wide variety of negative effects to your mental, emotional, and physical help. Don’t push yourself to do your tasks if you know you can’t with the kind of stress you’re having, so opt for a break.
- This break can be in any form, be it a physical break such as a nap or sleep, or a mental health break such as unwinding. These breaks can help you regain your focus and ease your mind into your current situation.
- These rests are also important to ensure your mind and body remain in peak condition for you to be able to do your job. If you’re rushing for something but you’re too tired, try to take a break knowing you won’t be able to perform if you overexert anyway.
- Try out relaxation techniques in order to efficiently make use of your breaks. There are a lot of possible ways to do this, including meditation, taking a spa, napping, sleeping, or even exposing yourself to media generally designed and geared towards making you laugh and be happy.
- Use the power of saying “No” to others: Another common cause of stress is perhaps the tendency for us to want to please others. A common source of stress is having too much to do with too little time to do it. Sometimes, you may have a tendency to accept more responsibility despite having a lot on your plate. It’s important for you to learn when to decline requests for your sake.
- You need to understand that if some tasks become too difficult, saying “No” is definitely an option. Try not to think of these as being afraid of missed opportunities, rejection, or conflict. Rather, if you can’t perform the task well, don’t accept it in the first place.
- Practice thinking of gentler phrases of declining tasks, such as starting with “I’m sorry,” or “Now’s not a good time.” in order to ease the listener into the situation.
- Learn efficient time management skills: As with the above, start training yourself to have better time management skills in order to avoid stress. Learn how to take note and prioritize your tasks instead of trying to do them all at the same time. Psychologists like Endeavor Wellness can actually help you work your way through these situations.
- Make a list of things you need to do and arrange them according to difficulty, relevance, and urgency. This allows you to determine which tasks have to be done immediately, and which tasks can be relegated to a later date.
- You can record your progress with tasks so you always have a handy reminder with you whenever you need to jump tasks for the sake of time management.
- Affirm control over your stress: Another important element in dealing with stress is affirming your control over the situation. Stress can be triggered by the impression of having a problem that doesn’t seem to be “solvable.” As such, try to find ways to come to terms with the nature of the problem by trying to dissect it and finding solutions to it.
- A useful way to do this is to write the problem at hand and list its many components. Identify the things that make you uncomfortable and why they make you uncomfortable.
- Next, identify what sort of outcome you want out of the situation, and identify steps you can take towards achieving that outcome. What are the solution’s pros and cons? Try to come up with something that gives you the most benefit with the least amount of risks.
- Have someone to talk to: Sometimes, company really is what you need in order to deal with stress. Being stressed can sometimes make us feel alone, which is in itself is extremely frustrating. Try to ease the tension by talking to someone you’re close with or care for, which can be your own way of gaining a support system.
- Talk about things with a friend, a colleague, or even a trained professional in order to get another person’s perspective on whatever issue that seems to be bothering you. This allows you to find another perspective to hinge potential solutions to your problems with.
- Talking to someone can help you distance yourself away from the stressful situation, even for a little bit.
The Takeaway: Stress Is Manageable, All In The Mind
Stress is a normal part of life, but it can sometimes get to a point that stressful situations can be too overwhelming for the regular person to bear. Unfortunately, getting to this point can take a toll on one’s life and relationships with others, which can then affect our outlook towards a lot of aspects in life. However, it’s also important to remember that stress, like any of life’s constants, can be manageable – and while stress won’t disappear in a snap, there are ways to lower them to levels you can bear. The points above could hopefully give you the kind of assistance you need in order to lower your stress levels for the better.
Joel Curtis
Joel Curtis is a registered Psychologists with Endeavour Wellness and has over 17 years of experience. Joel holds a Masters’ Degree in Psychology from Western Sydney University. Joel owns a number of private practices in Sydney and provides expert content for several national TV and Radio programmes.
